


Impulse

by luoup (ravenic)



Series: Team the Best Team [Platonic VLD Week 2.0] [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Platonic VLD Week, Swimming, shiro finally getting to have fun for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-23 10:12:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11400453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenic/pseuds/luoup
Summary: Day 1 Prompt 2: ImpulseShiro stops being such a Grown Up





	Impulse

**Author's Note:**

> ugh, i wanted to do a snowball fight but s2 stole it from me. 
> 
> instead, have more water-time antics because apparently that's what's been on my mind lately
> 
> direct continuation of [Restraint](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11391933), because even grown-up teenagers need to have fun sometimes.

Shiro was nineteen years old and he was tired of being a grown-up.

He was only a couple of years older than the other Paladins. They goofed off almost constantly, maybe even moreso because they knew that he would keep them in line. He was good at it, admittedly, and they did respect him even if it was sometimes buried under irritation at being bossed around, but Shiro wasn’t really that old and he was _tired_ of having to be the mature, restrained, in-control one. Really, really tired.

It was another hot planet. Why were so many planets hot? Here, the dominant species took advantage of the numerous natural pools on their planet, and even the cities seemed to have them on every street corner.

The Paladins were ecstatic.

The week had gone well, with the team taking out two minor Galra fleets and getting information on a handful more, and Allura was in a good mood. So as soon as the meetings and official work was over, she loosed the antsy teenagers on the water pools with no protests.

Unsurprisingly, Lance flung himself into the nearest body of water still fully clothed. Surprisingly, Pidge followed immediately after. It made a little more sense after Shiro noticed the (very large) sack of electronics Hunk was carrying. The Yellow Paladin placed the bag safely out of splash range, tugged off the outer layers of the clothes he’d been wearing (borrowed from a storeroom in the depths of the castle, as were all of their current outfits), and cannonballed in with enough force to bowl both Lance and Pidge over with the resulting wave. Keith left most of his clothes folded beside Hunk’s and followed his teammates, hesitant but interested enough to at least get in to his waist.

And here Shiro was yet again, sitting to the side, hot and bored and trying to hide the fact that he was sulking because good mature leaderlike adults did not go bouncing around in swimming pools, no matter how hot and humid it was.

“Hey, Shiro!” The Black Paladin blinked out of his thoughts when Hunk called his name. The Leg waved. “Come join us!”

For just an instant, Shiro let himself consider it. The water was clean and bright and sparkling, and even Keith, who felt ambiguous about water at the best of times (too long in a desert could do that to a kid), seemed to be enjoying himself. It would be wonderful to get in, it would feel amazing.

But he couldn’t. Shiro was supposed to be the mature one, he couldn’t just leap into the water and splash around like a little kid. Nevermind the fact that all five humans were relatively of equal ages, he just… he couldn’t.

“Come oooooon, Shiro,” Pidge whined, paddling closer. The pools were deep enough that she couldn’t touch bottom for most of them, but she didn’t seem to mind the extra swimming. “It’s really nice.”

“How are you even sitting out there?” Lance asked, looking at his leader upside-down as he floated by.

“It’s fine,” Shiro said, plastering on what had to be a terribly fake-looking smile. “I don’t really feel like it anyway, it’s –”

“Shiro,” Keith said flatly. The Red Paladin hardly had room to talk, he was only in to his waist, but even that had to be better than sitting in the heat. “We’re all wearing our colors, so you are literally in all black. It’s hot. Stop being dumb and get in.”

Shiro blinked. Trust Keith to cut to the chase.

“Please, Shiro?” Hunk’s puppy-dog eyes should be illegal. “I’m gonna spend the whole time worrying about you getting heatstroke if you just keep sitting there.”

“At least put your feet in,” Pidge grumbled, pushing her wet hair off her forehead. The glasses had somehow found their way to the bag of electronics, safe from harm.

Shiro sighed. “Really, it’s fine. I don’t mind –”

“Shiro I swear to god if you don’t get in here in the next five minutes I will drag you in,” Keith said flatly. Lance giggled. Knowing Keith, though, he really would do it.  
Shiro looked over them. Hunk still had the puppy eyes turned up to eleven. Pidge had gotten bored with trying to coax him in and had paddled off to look at a frog. Lance was still smiling, submerged up to his nose in water. Keith was staring at Shiro with determination in his violet eyes – there was no questioning that he would follow through with his threat if not obeyed.

Hunk was right, it really was hot enough to get heatstroke. And Shiro was dressed in all black from the meetings. It was way too hot, and the water was right there, and…

_What the heck. We’re fighting an impossible ancient space war, I might as well go swimming while I can._

“Okay,” Shiro sighed, “I give up. Here I come.”

The other Paladins whooped, Lance making a noise like a duck with a head cold as he accidentally inhaled some water in the process. Pidge swam back over, eyes bright with excitement. Hunk grinned happily, and Keith looked far too satisfied.

Shiro tugged off the outer parts of his clothing but left the long-sleeved shirt on. The team had been together long enough that none of them questioned it.

“Hey wait,” Lance blurted as Shiro put one foot into the water. The Black Paladin paused in confusion and he continued. “Is the robot arm going to, like, short-circuit? Or electrocute us? You’re great, Shiro, and you look way too hot over there, but if you going swimming means we all die, I’d rather you sat this one out again.”

“Lance you idiot, the arm is waterproof,” Pidge snapped, as Hunk said, “No, it won’t do that. It’s rained on planets before when we were outside, and Shiro can still take showers and stuff so it should be fine.”

“Oh, right,” Lance said, looking a little sheepish.

Shiro smiled at him, the expression a little more real now that he was knee-deep in cool water. “Thanks for looking out for us anyway, Lance. I’m glad I won’t be electrocuting my entire team. Voltron isn’t quite a one-man deal, you know.”

Lance burst out laughing, and Hunk waded over as Shiro sank down to sit on one of the steps, sighing in relief as the water covered his skin. “Hey Shiro,” he asked, “can I try something?”

“Sure?” was all Shiro was able to say before Hunk had hefted him up and flung him halfway across the pool.

Shiro had just enough time to let out an undignified shriek before he splashed back down. He came up sputtering to the sound of his entire team losing it. Pidge was only visible as a spot of splashing and some bubbly-sounding cackles, and Keith had actually fallen all the way in with the force of his laughter. The two Legs were clinging to one another to stay upright. But all four froze stock-still at the sight of Shiro reemerging, white forelock plastered to his forehead and water soaking the black shirt to stick skin-close to his considerably broad shoulders.

“Uh-oh,” Hunk stage-whispered. Shiro fixed him with a stare, giving the now-quivering Yellow Paladin a wicked smile.

Lance flung himself away from his friend. “Sorry, man, you’re on your own!”

Hunk squawked like a goose and tried to run, but the water slowed him and Shiro had apparently not forgotten his old swimming skills. He sped across the pool, catching up to Hunk in a second, and to the tune of Hunk honking in distress, grabbed him the way he had been caught only moments earlier, and heaved.

Hunk flew six feet across the water and made a splash that knocked Keith over and sent Pidge right under. Lance ducked beneath the wave and came up still laughing, although he took off again at the sight of Shiro.

Lance was too fast a swimmer to catch, but Shiro knew for a fact that Keith was no good and could only manage at best a doggy paddle. Clearly, his brother realized this fact at the same time he did, because the Red Paladin’s face took on a rarely-seen look of terror and did his best to bolt, but he was even slower than Hunk and Shiro caught up to him in seconds. Shiro grabbed his brother and spun him around, laughing at Keith’s curses and ineffectual flailing. Eventually he tired and tossed Keith up and away, only just making sure that he landed in the shallower part of the pool – he wasn’t actually trying to drown Keith. Then he sought his next victim.  
Pidge was sneaky on land, but although she swam better than Keith she was still not terribly skilled, and there was nowhere to hide in the open pool. When evasion failed, she lunged at Shiro, surprising him enough to clamber up his body and cling to his shoulders and hair, shrieking like a banshee straight into his ears until he dunked himself entirely underwater just to dislodge her. They both came up laughing.

Lance was like an otter and impossible to catch. But now that he was the only one left, the others wanted him to get “Shiro-ed” as they had, and not even Lance could evade four others after him. He gave it a good fight, dodging Keith and darting past Pidge’s shorter-armed grasp, twisting and turning too quickly for Hunk to catch. Finally he dove to the bottom of the pool and stayed there, grinning up at them through the ripples, until Shiro dove down after him and hauled the boy up by the ankle.

Then, now that they were all on equal ground, the five turned on one another. Teams formed and dissolved like waves, and by the time Allura finally tracked them down, everyone was soaked and exhausted. Lance and Pidge both had water up their noses, Shiro’s eyes were burning, Hunk had bonked his head on the wall in a misplanned leap, and Keith kept shaking his head like a dog in attempts to dislodge the water in his ears.

“What is going on here?”

They all froze instinctively at the princess’s commanding voice. Lance and Keith, most frequently the victims of the Altean’s wrath, turned pleading stares at Shiro. You’re the grown-up. Save us.

“Um.” Shiro blinked harder. He’d gotten a lot of water in his face, and his eyes stung at every motion. “We…” he glanced around. The clothes were piled on the edge of the pool, and all five Paladins were splashing around like a bunch of children.

“We were doing a training exercise,” he said with only somewhat-faked confidence. Lance and Hunk stared at him. Keith snorted, and Pidge rolled her eyes.

Allura didn’t look terribly convinced. “What kind of training, precisely?” she asked, gazing over them. Keith tipped his head to the side and shook it harder, trying to get the water out.

“Stamina and agility,” Shiro lied cleanly. “The water provides good resistance training.”

She didn’t seem to believe him, but didn’t look like she felt like continuing the argument. “Very well. It is time for us to leave now, you can continue your… training exercise in the pool at the castleship. Let’s go.”

Team Voltron clambered out of the pool, gathered their things, and followed the princess back to the castle, leaving a trail of water behind them. Halfway back, Pidge wheedled a piggyback ride out of Lance, and although he spent the rest of the time complaining, he never dropped the smaller Paladin. Hunk and Keith spent the trip talking about some kind of modification Hunk wanted to make to the Red Lion, and Shiro made a mental note to keep an eye on them to avoid any technological mishaps. But he trusted Hunk; the modification would in all likelihood go very well.

Shiro was exhausted and very soggy. The Galra arm was waterproof, Hunk had told the truth, but it would probably need extra cleaning tonight to make sure no bits had made it into the mechanics. His eyes hurt and he knew he would be sore tomorrow from all the leaping around. It would be tough to get up in the morning, and the other Paladins would probably spend the day whining and trying to get out of training. Allura would probably give them all a lecture or six, and if his luck was bad she’d take him aside and give him his own lecture about setting a good example for the younger Paladins.

It was worth it.

As he followed his dripping, worn-out, happy team back into the castleship, Shiro couldn’t help but think that sometimes it was a good idea to stop being a grown-up for just a little bit.

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy your puddle-jumping, shiro. stars know you've earned it.


End file.
